


Something I Learned Today

by Devilc



Category: DCU, DCU - Comicverse, JSA
Genre: Comica Obscura, First Meetings, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-07
Updated: 2010-03-07
Packaged: 2017-10-07 19:13:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/68291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devilc/pseuds/Devilc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a warm afternoon at a JSA BBQ and Jack and Todd put 2+2 together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something I Learned Today

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StellaLuna](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=StellaLuna).



> Written for StellaLuna in the Comica Obscura 2006 challenge.
> 
> The story is inspired by my love of 80's punk bands and a picture of Jack Knight in the Starman Secret Files of several years ago which showed Jack Knight all punked out. So, this story is a bit of "what if" exploring what Jack's rebellious phase was like.
> 
> And then I had this idea to have him meet Todd Rice ...
> 
> Thanks to two friends who answered, to the best of their abilities, some canon and continuity questions I had.
> 
> The title is a reference to a Husker Du song.

Ever since he had told his dad and David to both fuck off and stormed out of the house, life for Jack Knight had been ….

Well it had _been_, and it was going to be more, and even when things were crummy and he had not showered in a few days, and he had worn the same dirty underwear, filthy jeans, and ripped super funky T-shirt for a few days and food was something from Mc D's and a bump of speed to keep them all going, Jack fucking loved it.

Because how many people, really, could say that they had roadied for a band? Talk about the road less traveled by, right?

And, sometimes when they were in a gas station convenience store pissing and stocking up on the essentials, getting nervous glances from the townies, Jack knew that this was the sort of stuff he could put into his "back when I roadied for Husker Du" stories.

The strangest thing about roadieing for a band, especially a punk band like Husker, concerned the fact that all of the stuff that Jack had ever heard about life as a roadie?

All true. All of it.

The hours sucked.

The pay sucked.

You lived out of a backpack or duffle bag.

You got to know your rock and roll idols as a bunch of regular fart knocking, nose picking, meat beating fuckups  just like you, really. (Except they had a talent that you didn't. And in Husker Du's case, good God, Jack loved the sound that Bob could wring out of his guitar  like molten metal cascading out of the speakers. The first time Jack ever heard Land Speed Record, he knew he had to see this band. Ending up as their roadie? Too cool for fucking words.)

Oh, and yes, some of the sex and drugs part of the "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" equation also ended up coming your way.

Like right now.

That bump of crank that Jack took just before the set started turned out to be some good shit.

After the show, they got all the stuff bundled into the van (in what seemed like record time) and then ended up at a house on the wrong side of the tracks owned by some woman from the show that Greg knew a little bit, and the plan was to party and then crash here. Which meant hot coffee in the morning to chase the hangovers away and showers, and with a bit of luck, Jack could sneak a load of laundry in.

But it also meant right here, right now, behind a shit rickety, spider-ridden shed, hanging with this kid from the party, the kid who didn't quite belong  turned out he's the boy next door  sharing a joint and a few beers, totally bonding over what controlling assholes their fathers are, and Todd had been sending out signals all night, so Jack made a move and suddenly they're just kissing and Todd's mouth tastes like a weird combination of beer and Pepsi and pizza.

Breaking the kiss, Todd shoved Jack away. His eyes looked huge in the moonlight. "I-I can't " he said in a panicky voice, and started to move like he would stand, but Jack grabbed him.

"Dude, what? One moment you're acting like you wanted to be kissed, so we're kissing, and the next you shove me away like I'm a leper."

"I - I just ... "

"And don't try telling me now that you didn't want it." Jack looked pointedly at the tented front of Todd's cutoffs.

Pause.

"If you sit and relax, I'll let you in on something," Jack said.

Gingerly, Todd sat. "Okay. What?"

Jack cupped Todd's face in his hands and whispered softly, "Bob's a fag. Grant's a fag. Nobody cares." Almost an out and out lie, because even though Bob and Grant were gay, only a small circle of people knew this, and Bob and Grant didn't exactly want the truth to become widely known.

But it worked. Todd's mouth formed such an O of surprise that Jack could not contain a guffaw of laughter. "Me?" he continued, "I swing both ways."

"Ohhhhkay."

"How old are you, Todd?"

"Seventeen."

"You like girls?"

Even in the dim light Jack could see Todd blanch a little as he nodded yes.

"Ever been with one?"

Todd shook his head no.

"You ever been with anybody?"

"No." Whispered. Soft. Ashamed.

"Hey," Jack said gently, "it's no big deal. Besides, being a teen is all about being rebellious, right? And doing your own thing to find out what you like. And " Jack ghosted his fingers over Todd's fly " I can see that a part of you really wants to see if this is something you like."

"B-but my dad "

"Fuck your dad," Jack laughed. "One of the best things I ever did was tell my dad to fuck off, right to his face. That's how I got to where I am today. Do you even like your dad?"

"Hell no," Todd said, and the sheer amount of venom in his voice surprised Jack.

"Then let's have fun doing something he would completely fucking hate."

Silence, except for the sound of crickets chirping. Jack felt like he could almost see the wheels turning in Todd's mind. God he hoped Todd would say yes, because he was so fucking cute and had a sweetness to him, and Jack liked the idea of being somebody's first time and  Jack had had a bump of speed that still hadn't entirely worn off, or maybe it was just sheer adrenaline at this point. Either way, the end result was the same. Jack wanted to. A lot.

"What ... do I do?" Todd whispered.

"Just shut up and relax," Jack replied and kissed him. After a moment, he snaked a hand up and under Todd's shirt, totally vibing on the fact that such a simple act caused Todd to gasp and moan. "You can touch me, too, y'know, " Jack said after a few moments.

"Oh." Todd laughed and blushed again. A split second later, he nervously stuck his hand under Jack's shirt.

The nervousness didn't last long, however. Jack found himself groaning in pleasure as Todd's fingers gently flicked and tickled at his nipples. The guy was a natural, it seemed. Reluctantly Jack sat up and took off his shirt. Todd's eyes widened at the sight, then he flushed furiously, which Jack found endearingly cute  his eager shyness. A moment later, Todd reared up enough to take off his own shirt.

He was more lean and muscular than Jack expected. Most guys Todd's age still had a trace of baby fat. The ghost of a large bruise spread across Todd's lower left rib cage, and Jack had an idea of where it probably came from, but said nothing, just pushed Todd back to lie flat and began covering his neck and upper chest with little nips and licking kisses that caused Todd's breath to catch.

This time, Todd's hands did not remain idle. They eagerly caressed as much of Jack's back as they could reach, even darting just below the belt line a few times, teasing at the top of Jack's butt, before Todd finally got over his nervousness enough to clench Jack's ass properly and squeeze as he began to grind his hips against Jack's.

But the delicious friction stopped the moment Jack's hands began fumbling with the buttons on Todd's cutoffs. Actually, Todd's whole body went almost as rigid as a board from shock.

"Something wrong?" Jack asked.

"Um ... no. I just can't believe this is actually going to happen," Todd laughed a bit goofily and his hand covered Jack's, tugging at it, urging it back to its task.

Jack finally got the last of the buttons undone and Todd's cock practically leapt out. Jack could feel the heat radiating off it through the thin cotton of Todd's jockeys even before he traced his fingers up its length. He smiled when he found a quarter sized wet patch from all the oozing pre-come. Good, because he liked an eager dick.

"Lift up," he murmured, and Todd obliged, allowing Jack to free his cock and shinny the shorts and jockeys out of the way before swooping in, licking Todd's cock from root to salty seeping tip, breathing deeply of Todd's scent, a mixture of male musk and April Fresh fabric softener, savoring it, before sucking the whole thing deep into his mouth, swirling his tongue along the shaft as he drew it in.

Todd reacted immediately. His hips spasmed, bucked, his whole body shuddered. He gave a short sharp cry and flooded Jack's mouth with a couple huge spurts of come.

Gagging, choking, Jack coughed and spat. "Y'know, you normally warn a guy before you do that to him," he said a bit more sharply than he intended.

Todd's face fell. In a small, crushed voice, he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't"

Jack cut him off with a deep sigh. "Look. Never mind. Now, you know, okay?" He unbuckled and unzipped his jeans, pushing them down.

Looking at him with huge, hungry eyes, Todd said, "Um, do you want me to ...?"

"No," Jack replied. The fact that he was a bit ripe down there aside, learning to give good head took some doing, and right now Jack wasn't in the mood to put up with a bit of accidental toothyness. He just wanted to come -- as quickly and painlessly as possible. "Just - " he cupped Todd's hand around him and laid back down, half on Todd " - let me fuck your fist." And started to piston his hips as he began to fiercely work his mouth along the expanses of Todd's neck and collarbone, nipping and sucking, drinking in the scent of crushed grass and the scent of Todd, savoring the faint salty taste of his skin, riding the mounting sensation until he couldn't contain it anymore.

When he floated back into the real world, Jack couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up.

"What?" Todd asked, grinning shyly.

"I just gave you one hell of a hickey," Jack said, tucking himself back into his jeans as Todd wiped his hand on the grass.

"What?!" Todd yelped, feeling along his neck until he found the spot. "You did. Shit."

"So?" Jack shrugged. "Say you got it from a girl."

"It's just -- I'm grounded. I snuck out tonight. There's no way I can hide this from my dad."

Jack laughed and said, "Say she came in through your window, and what were you supposed to do?"

Todd shot him a look. "That's not going to work with my dad."

Jack shrugged again. "Sorry. What's done is done," he said not unkindly.

"Yeah ... it is, isn't it?" Todd said rather bleakly.

A long tense pause followed. It seemed like even the crickets didn't dare chirp.

"Look -" They both said unison, and laughed, tension broken.

"You should -"

"I was just thinking that -"

"- it's getting late and your dad -"

"- my dad's probably going to come home soon -"

"- you should probably -"

"- sneak back in before he gets back."

"Yeah." Jack laughed and gave Todd a quick kiss.

Todd stood, put his shirt back on and brushed the worst of the grass and dirt off his clothes.

"Hey Todd," Jack began.

"Yeah?"

"It's no big deal, you'll see what it's like with a girl soon enough."

Todd cheeks grew pink again, and he gave a crooked smile. "I hope to." He scrambled over the fence.

Jack took a few minutes to gather his thoughts and then got up and stumbled into the house. The party had all but died. The speed and adrenaline were wearing off and he needed to crash. Now.

He found a quiet enough corner in the spare bed room and lay down. He was so tired it took him a moment to process the sounds of the yelling coming from next door. Sigh. It seemed Todd didn't get in unnoticed after all. Shit.

Someday he would tell "back in the day when I was a roadie for Husker Du" stories.

Somehow, he didn't think this would be one of them.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Even though he had quit the superhero gig, Jack Knight made a point of attending the occasional cape and cowl get-together. These folks were still his friends and it was good to keep up with them. He avoided the formal reunions as much as possible, but he couldn't turn down the invitation to BBQ at Jay Garrick's house.

He showed up with a gallon jug of The Shade's secret recipe lemonade (and the Shade's regrets) as well as a six pack of Anchor Steam. No sooner had he stepped through the portal than Alan Scott and Ted Grant both came up to him.

"Is that what I think it is?" Alan said, reaching for the lemonade. While Ted said, "Anchor Steam. I always knew you were a hoity-toity beer guy, Jack." But that didn't stop him taking the beers from Jack's hands.

"Erm ... it's not spiked, if that's what you're asking. It's just plain lemonade" he said to Alan, while to Ted he shouted, "Yeah, but somehow I don't think that's going to stop you from chugging it down."

"Oooh ..." Alan poured himself a tall glass and took a huge gulp, "Nectar of the gods. Even with the ring, I can't quite recreate what he does. Too bad he's not joining us."

"Yeah, well, I think only Mogo socializes less than him." Jack said, grabbed a plate, napkin, and fork and helped himself to a rack of Mr. Terr - Michael's ribs and some of Joan's coleslaw.

He said hellos to everybody, snagged one of his beers back from Ted, and wound his way to an empty seat back in the corner where Bart -- and boy was it strange seeing him as a grown up, drinking a wine cooler -- Al, Rick, Todd, and Courtney were hanging out.

"'S up?" he said by way of greeting and got down to the serious business of putting the world's best ribs into his mouth. (Was there anything he wasn't terrific at?) Everybody said hello back, except for Bart, who looked at his shin and said, "That's a wicked scar. Which villain gave it to you?"

"Fender Stratocaster," Jack said, licking sauce from his fingers.

"I didn't know you played," Rick said.

Jack shook his head and gulped some beer down. "I don't. Back when I was about 20, I left home and roadied for a band. Guitar slipped out of my hands, and bam! scraped right down my shin."

"Who?" Bart asked.

"Punk band you've probably never heard of, Husker Du."

Todd spewed his coke.

"You alright, Todd?" Al asked.

"Um, yeah," Todd said after he stopped choking. "It's just that - my um ..." he gave a weird, almost hysterical laugh. "I think it's a very small world, is all." He leaned over and whispered something in Al's ear. Something that caused Al's eyes to widen and then caused Al to fall over backwards laughing.

"What?" everybody asked in unison.

"It's just that ..." Al wheezed, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes "... you were probably Todd's very first good friend," he finished in a squeak. Todd and Al sagged against each other in renewed laughter.

That made no sense. Everybody else looked at each other, and finally Courtney said, "Um ... how can that be? You didn't meet until just a few years ago, right?"

"Yeah ..." Jack said, "I mean, unless you were fan, and you bribed me to get back stage or something." He raised his beer and took a deep swallow.

"Or _something_ indeed," Todd replied with a smirking grin.

But Todd and Al weren't going to let the rest of them in on the joke, and, whatever. Jack finished his ribs and got up to get another set.

He was stealing yet another one of his beers back from the ever loving paws of Ted Grant, when he overheard Joan ask Alan how Todd was _really_ doing these days. After a split second pause, Alan replied, "He's quite happy. He's got a, um, good friend out in California, Damon, he couldn't make it tonight, he's a little nervous around us superpeople, and they've ...uh ... um ... been good for each other."

Jack felt his mouth form a perfect "oh!" of realization as the memory hit him, and he snickered all the way back to his chair. Plopping himself down, he looked at Todd and said, "Summer of '85, out back, behind the shed?"

Todd flashed him a knowing grin and said, "Yup."

The three of them laughed, and despite all of Bart and Courtney's wheedling (and Rick's threats of time travel) all any of them would say was, "It's a small world, that's all you need to know."


End file.
